So this is the first update! Again, sorry for not updating in a long time.

For anyone new, thank you for reading! I hope you'll enjoy this!

I'll skip a long intro, so have fun reading!

Also, Merry Christmas!

SHATTERED PIECES~

Lucy looked at him in disbelief. He wanted to jump hundreds of feet down into the river's rapids? Was he going insane? Just the impact from the water would kill them, not to mention the dangers that were hiding in the water.

Yet even as half of her brain was screaming that this was the worst idea she had ever thought about (which was impressive considering there was a time when Natsu had almost convinced her to dress up like a bunny and perform in front of strangers), the other side was telling her 'What other choice do you have?'.

So basically she could either wait on the train waiting to fall to her doom or jump out of the train and speed up the process. Oh, and she definitely couldn't forget that she would be jumping with a handsome stranger she met five minutes ago.

The compartment suddenly shook intensely, almost making Lucy fall to the ground. She knew that she would probably only have a few more seconds to make her decision before fate took matters into its own hands. She could feel her palms becoming clammy; the blonde never was good at making sudden decisions, especially in a life and death situation.

Natsu would have already taken action.

Her idiotic, dense, yet strangely endearing boyfriend suddenly crashed through all her thoughts...just like he had crashed through that store window three days ago.

Her lips curved up a bit, only to fall back into a frown.

Natsu.

Probably the only person in the world who could ever make her feel so frustrated, angry, worried (that emotion pretty much summed up their relationship), amused, happy, and loved.

She loved him, even though she didn't say it that often for fear of boosting his already inflated ego. Now she regretted that action.

Will I ever see him again?

That thought shot a storm of fear into her heart. Before she had met Natsu, she had never noticed anything missing from her life. But now that she had him in her world, Lucy often wondered how she ever even lived without him beside her.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when Loke started shaking her shoulders.

"Lucy, we can't wait any longer. We have to go now. Trust me, jumping is the safest solution." he said in a calm voice. It made her wonder what experiences he'd been through to be so eerily relaxed.

She looked out the window as the train was shaking madly from the brakes. The sky was blue and she even saw birds flying in the sky. The scenery seemed so perfect, yet here she was, in this situation.

"What about the other passengers?" she asked. Loke's eyes widened for a moment.

"They have to make thrown choices. Even if we told them to jump, they would go against it. People don't like listening to other's ordering them to do something, even if it's the right choice." Loke spoke quickly, lifting his foot onto the window's ledge.

Wow, nice to know he has a good sense of wisdom in this situation.

"I'm coming with you." the blonde stated. Even she was sort of surprised at how confident her words sounded. It was as if her mouth moved of its own accord. But living with Natsu had taught her to make more wild decisions, even if she was always hesitant about them.

Luce, just trust me. I won't let you get hurt.

Lucy took her bag and held it securely against her body. She stepped over to the window. Her heart pounded, she almost forgot how to breathe.

...

And then she jumped. The wind was roaring in her ears as she flew through the air, down into the waiting water. Her eyes were wide open, taking in everything around her. She could hear the screeching of the train's wheels, but she paid no attention to it.

Her gaze was focused on the sky, and the bright sun. For a moment, she felt as if she were a bird, free and wild.

For a moment, Lucy thought everything would be all right.

Natsu regretted the tub of ice cream he scarfed down in that eating contest against Gray, and he definitely regretted going to eat spicy buffalo wings right after he lost.

But nothing could compare to the regret he felt looking at the television screen with the breaking news announcement playing on it.

Out of all the bad decisions he had ever made in his 18 years of life, Natsu sorely regretted letting Lucy go on that train.

Everyone who had sent the blonde off that morning was gathered here in her living room. All of them were deathly quiet, something that never occurred when the group was together.

"Oh no..." Levy whispered. Her eyes immediately drifted to the pink haired male who was just staring blankly at the screen before him.

She was just about to move towards him but a large hand stopped her.

Gajeel was just shaking his head, his eyes on Natsu as well. Her eyes dropped to the ground, and she brought her hands to her face. She started crying, tears cascading down like waterfalls. Levy cried enough for the both of them.

...

For herself, and for the one who was too pained to do so.

I hope it was a good Christmas present to you guys! Maybe my writing skills got a bit better? Anyways, I am truly sorry for the long wait, and I hope to release more chapters soon!

~ SkyFairies